


Shadow Woman

by Skylin3



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst, Bonds Throughout Time, F/M, Fluff, Sisters, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 02:16:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20685836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylin3/pseuds/Skylin3
Summary: Bonding with Sae has never been easy. Even when Makoto was a little girl, Sae seemed to prioritize certain things over others. The situation only gets worse when phantom thieves become known to the public. However, over time people change and learn how to be better for those around them. Maybe Sae did learn something.





	Shadow Woman

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2 of Makoto Week - Sisters

A phone rang in the distance. A little eight-year-old girl was diligently doing her elementary school work as it rang. She heard the phone and went to the counter to answer it.

"Hello? You've reached the Niijima residence" said the little girl.

"Hey sweety it's your Dad! I just wanted to let you know that I'll be coming home for dinner tonight."

"Really?!" The little girl yelled excitedly.

"Yes! Now come on go tell your sister, I'll be home in ten minutes!"

"Okay!"

The little girl hung up the phone and went running to her older sister's room. She excitedly called out her sister's name as she ran through the small halls of the apartment.

"Sae, Sae, Sae!" 

Sae heard the little sister and walked out of her room to greet her.

"What is it, Makoto?"

"Guess what, Guess what!!! Dad's coming home tonight!"

"Tonight?! But I still have that to do..."

"Hm? What is that, sis?" Makoto asked curiously.

"It’s just some very important homework that I have to get done and I can’t afford any distractions," Sae said as she rubbed the sides of her temple.

"But can’t it wait for later? Dad’s coming home soon...”

“I suppose… But just this once okay?”

Sae didn’t really want to participate, but seeing her dad for dinner was indeed a rare treat. So she decided to set aside her homework for now and reluctantly joined her little sister for preparations. The table was ready rather quickly, plates, silverware, napkins, and cups were all neatly set in front of the seats. They had just finished preparations when their father had entered the apartment. Makoto rushed her dad with utter joy, while Sae approached him in a calmer manner. 

“Dad, dad come on let’s go eat already!” said an excited Makoto.

“Alright, alright settle down Makoto I’m going.”

The three Niijimas sat down and began to enjoy their dinner together. As dinner went on, Makoto had bombarded her dad with questions about his day. He responded with a hearty laugh and told Makoto everything she wanted to know. Well, at least what he could say given his status as a police officer. Sae meanwhile was rather quiet and eating quickly. She was the first one to finish and dismiss herself. Her father was displeased by her actions, so much so that he called out to her stopping her in her tracks.

“Woah there, young lady! Where do you think you’re going?”

“To my room, there’s some homework I need to finish.”

“But I just got here, and don’t you have the weekend to do it?”

Sae was a little bothered by her father’s comment. She questioned if he legitimately cared for her education because if he did he wouldn’t have made such an idiotic suggestion she thought. However, she was in no mood to fight and she simply responded with an annoyed “please.”

He let her go begrudgingly. Meanwhile, Makoto was saddened a bit by what had just happened. She was really looking forward to this night and Sae decided to spend it on her homework instead. Makoto’s father noticed and tried to lighten her mood a bit.

“Hey cheer up honey, what you say you and me eat some cookies and then I read you a bedtime story?”

Makoto’s mood instantly brightened up and she happily agreed. They went to get her favorite buchimaru themed animal crackers and shared a glass of milk together. Her dad would often play with the crackers and make up some silly scenarios for Makoto. When the time for bed came, he made sure that she brushed her teeth and tucked her into bed. Once she was ready for bed, her father read her a small bedtime story. However, Makoto didn’t make it to the end because her eyelids felt heavy and she drifted off mid-story. Her father then rubbed her forehead gently and gave her a small goodnight kiss.

“Sweet dreams, baby girl,” he said.

He made sure to turn on Makoto’s little nightlight and then walked outside her room and gently closed the door. Dream’s filled Makoto’s mind as the night went on. She dreamt of her friends at school, Buchimaru, and her dad. They were all peaceful dreams that meant no harm to her little mind. And then it came along; the nightmare of the shadowy woman. The woman in her dream sported a long black elegant dress with beautiful long silver hair. She looked just like Sae, the only difference being that she had exaggerated black make-up, yellow eyes, and an oversized black hat with a yellow flower on top. The shadowy woman continued to call to her saying things like “come and see where the whims of fate may lead us.” Makoto being an innocent child didn’t know any better and followed the woman. After a while, the shadowy woman disappeared and Makoto was left alone the dark. All that was left was the voice of that woman taunting poor Makoto.

Makoto was then surrounded by deformed shadowy like figures who sought to hurt her. They were led by a large leviathan that was equipped with deadly machinery. The leviathan said only one thing before unleashing the shadows on her.

“LET’S DO THIS FAIR AND SQUARE!”

The shadows rushed her and all Makoto could do was run away. She began to whimper small no’s before she finally let loose and screamed loudly. By the time she was done yelling she realized she was awake and back in her bedroom safe and sound. Her father came rushing in and asked her what was wrong. Makoto was too scared to recall those events that she couldn’t say anything comprehensible. Her father worried about her, so he took her to his room and let her sleep next to him. Just what exactly haunted Makoto’s dream. Was it just an evil monster? Or was it a warning of the future. She didn’t want to know; she just wanted to dream peacefully again. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off once more, knowing that her dad would be there to protect her.

* * *

_ Ten years later… _

  
That woman made herself known again, however, this time Makoto was looking at her in person, it was Sae. Sae the sister she loved so much; the sister who would make sure she had a place to live in after their father passed away; the sister who promised to change after the phantom thieves ordeal was over. Makoto knew that it was just her sister’s shadow, but it still hurt to see that the one who taunted her all those years ago was a part of her sister. Now she had to fight her head-on and remind her of what justice truly meant.

A battle revolved around chance ensued. Either Makoto and the thieves bet and hoped to win or they attacked and were severely punished for it. As the thieves made their bets, Shadow Sae kept going on and on about playing “fair and square”, but if Makoto knew one thing for sure; it was that this Sae was anything but fair. Makoto saw how this version of her sister cheated her way through the bets with no remorse. It was getting to be too much; she didn’t know if she could stand watching any more of her deception. Makoto eventually became fed up with it and unleashed all six of her bullets and exposed Sae’s cheating schemes.

Sae’s shadow began to feel cornered and desperate to win against the thieves. Eventually, it lost control over itself and was consumed by black dust. As the black dust faded, a new cognition took the place of Sae, the leviathan. As if Makoto hadn’t already seen enough, now she had to bear the knowledge that shadowy woman and the leviathan were her sister. The leviathan let out a loud roar and began going on a tirade.

“CHEATING?! UNFAIR?! SILENCE! THIS IS MY WORLD!” It said as it began to rush Makoto.

Makoto just stood there frozen and powerless to do anything. The leviathan was coming at full force unwilling to stop, even for her sister. It raised it’s long chain-saw-like sword and swung it at Makoto. In the mere seconds that it was going to connect, Ren had just managed to swoop in and save Makoto. The two toppled over one from the impact of the sword hitting the ground. When the two stopped rolling, Ren had noticed that Makoto was still in a state of emotional shock. Ren yelled at her in an attempt to snap her out of it.

“You’re going to save her right?!”

“Yeah…”

Something about Ren’s words managed to wake Makoto from her trance. She knew that he had to save her sister and bring her back to the right side of justice. Makoto got up from the ground and summoned her Persona, Johanna. She hopped on the speeding bike and rode it around the room until she gained enough speed. As she was doing this, she had instructed the other’s to attack the leviathan. After a few circles around the room, Makoto had gained enough speed and sped towards the leviathan. Just as she reached the Leviathan she jumped off Johanna and launched herself into the air.

“Johanna, Transform!”

Her persona obeyed and began to spread its mechanical parts into the shape of a humanoid figure, Anat. 

“Atomic Flare!” Makoto yelled.

A small blue ball of energy appeared from the hands of Anat and together with Makoto, they drove it into the leviathan. The bundle of energy turned into a dramatic explosion of blue energy as it connected. It was just enough to defeat the leviathan. After the smoke from the explosion cleared, Shadow Sae re-appeared from where the leviathan stood. This time the shadow was calmer and had a face of regret written all over it.

“Makoto...?”

“I don’t think it’s wrong to bring light to evils which can’t be judged by the law but twisting the truth for your own personal gain...?” Makoto shook her head in disapproval. “You have to remember your feelings when you wanted to become a prosecutor! Think about your justice, sis.”

“My justice...”

“Think about who you used to be!”

“Who I-”

Suddenly alarms went off around the palace. Makoto knew what was coming next, she had to go and carry on with her duties. At least now she knew that now her beloved sister was coming back. She couldn’t wait to reconnect with her again.

* * *

_1 year later…_

Makoto was staring at a custom-made photo calendar of her and Ren’s photo’s together. She remembers being extremely embarrassed when Ren gifted her this for White Day. Although over the course of the year that he’s been gone, she’s come to appreciate it more and more.

“One more month.” she hummed.

Just then a knock was heard on her door, followed by a person entering her room. It was her older sister Sae who taken the day off from working at the law firm. She had gotten a new job since the phantom thieves ordeal that happened last year. She had been happier because of it too, and her relationship with Makoto had begun healed since then. Even now she dressed more casually sporting a simple short-sleeved black button-up that was tucked in at her waist under a pair of dark blue jeans. 

“So who’s the lucky guy?” Makoto teased.

“Hm? Oh, no one really. Actually I came to ask if you wanted to spend the day out together.”

“Oh! Uh...Sure!” Makoto said with a surprised look. “What’s the occasion for?”

“What I need an occasion to spend the day with my sister now?” Sae joked. “Come on let’s go.”

“Oh okay!”

The two sisters went out for the day. They first stopped by to get breakfast and had a nice chat together. They reminisced the memories of their father and mother, and the good memories they had of them. Though Makoto didn’t remember that much about her mother, the way Sae spoke of her assured her that she was indeed an amazing woman. Afterwards, they spent a few hours in the shopping district, looking for new clothes, shoes, bags; anything that they could bond over was worth doing. 

The afternoon came and two decided that final activity would be a walk around Inokashira Park. The two sisters strolled the park in peaceful silence. Often Makoto would tell of how she spent her time here with Ren. Which drew out a long-winded sigh from Makoto. 

“What’s wrong Makoto?” Sae asked.

“Nothing…”

“Don’t lie to me, I know when something is bugging you.”

“It’s just that… I miss him, Ren I mean.”

“Ah, I see. I remember being in love once too”

“You were in love? I-I mean sorry that sounded rude I-”

“Makoto relax it’s fine. But yes I was in love once, he was a really sweet guy named Jiro. You know he kinda reminds of Ren. They both were very doting and helped out those in need.”

“Really? Well, what happened?”

“He moved away before I could ever confess,” Sae said.

“Oh… I’m sorry that happened, sis.” Makoto lamented.

“Don’t worry about it, my whole point of telling you that is you should learn how to move on.”

Makoto cringed at the thought. How could her own sister say such a thing?! And here she thought her older sister was going back to being her old self.

“Wha- what do you mean move on?!”

“Exactly what I said Makoto, move on.” Sae deadpanned.

“Sae you better take that back or else!”

“Or else what?” Sae smirked.

“You!- Wait a minute why are smirking?”

“Look behind you.”

Suddenly a pair of hands covered Makoto’s eyes. Normally she would flip over anyone who tried that, but she knew that touch better than anyone. It was his, it was Ren’s.

“R-Ren?!”

“The one only Queen.”

“Get your hands off me already and let me see you!”

Ren did as Makoto told him. When she turned around to meet him, she couldn’t believe it was actually him. He was here a month earlier than expected. God’s was she extremely happy to see him. She kissed him, which took Ren by surprise since he was usually the one to kiss first. The two of them held each other close and told each other everything they had done since they last saw each other.

Meanwhile, Sae was smiling at the reunited couple. If this was her about a year ago she would have hated the idea of Ren dating Makoto. But he did manage to prove himself that he was responsible and that he really did care for her.

“I hope you're watching Mother and Father. Our little Makoto is all grown up and in the hands of a capable and respectable young man. I promise you I’ll be keeping an eye on the both of them. And I promise to make up for these years that I failed to be Makoto’s sister. I promise to be her rock whenever she feels lost; I promise to take of her in any way that I can. After all, that’s what sisters are for.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always criticism is greatly appreciated.
> 
> I hope you have a good one.


End file.
